Kane County Morgue Reopens After 8 Months

The office of the Kane County Coroner reopened Tuesday after being closed for 8 months to remedy mold and ventilation issues. The first autopsy in the new space is planned for Wednesday, Coroner Bob Russell said.

Russell was elected to office Dec. 1, 2012. Soon after, he assembled a group of area coroners to analyze the space because he knew that it has not been taken care of over the years. He also budgeted to purchase a new cooler.

“This was a contamination, it was a cumulative result of a continual dysfunction that had been occurring for 20 years,” he said.

Right after Russell delivered the report to Kane County board members, investigations at the facility revealed a mold problem.

“We stayed here for as long as we could, but with the detection of mold, I made the executive decision that I’m not going to subject my employees to...anymore possible harm,” Russell said.

That mold turned out to be non-toxic, but it was an allergenic mold that needed to be remedied.

Russell had already budgeted $76,000 for a new freezer and that purchase came in at $56,000, $20,000 under budget. But, because workers had to travel to adjacent DuPage County for Coroner business and worked overtime hours, the office was $123,000 over budget.

In addition to remediating the mold problem, the Kane County Coroner now has two ventilation systems, one that contains the air of the morgue to the morgue. Prior to that, smells from the morgue could be detected throughout the building.